![]() ![]() A study of California cities showed that walkable street networks correlate with lower obesity, diabetes, asthma, and heart disease. Walking burns four calories a minute, and regular strolls reduce the risk of diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and colon cancer. Maybe money can buy happiness, but so can living and working in a walkable town. One study found that a person with a one-hour commute has to earn 40 percent more to be as happy as someone who walks to work. The longer we drive to and from work, the less happy we are. Walking raises endorphin levels, lowers stress-related cortisol, and helps people sleep better. Not only is that a great quote, research seems to back it up. ![]() “Great public space is like magic, it’s almost happiness itself,” said Enrique Peñalosa, former mayor of Bogota, Columbia. Unfortunately, the number of children who walk to school has declined from about 50 percent, 50 years ago, to less than 15 percent today, partly due to changes in the built environment. Regular walking cuts early mortality risk by 22 percent, according to a study cited by Arup. Living in a walkable place that allows for activity built into each day benefits every age group, and helps people to live longer. Walking to school promotes independence among children. Promotes active living, for longer and better lives.Here’s a list of 10 social benefits of designing and building human-scale cities and towns. This article focuses on social benefits, those that directly impact the well-being of people, along with their neighbors and community members. Their assembly, often involving thousands of buildings, thoroughfares, and public spaces, impacts nearly every aspect of our lives.Ī research report called Cities Alive by Arup, a multinational engineering and design firm, enumerated two score and ten benefits of walkable places, in four categories: Social, economic, environmental, and political. Cities and towns are architecture writ large. Winston Churchill insightfully said of architecture, “we shape our buildings and thereafter they shape us.” That statement is even more true of communities and urban planning. ![]()
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